A television journalist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, wants a generic term for “house of worship” to use in place of the word church in news reports. Synagogue, temple, sanctuary, and mosque are all too specific. What’s a fitting alternative? This is...
Chai tea is not redundant—just tasty. But that doesn’t stop people from debating the question. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Chai Tea Redundancy” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Christina, and I’m calling from...
How much humor and personality can you pack into a 140-character update? A lot, it turns out. Martha and Grant talk about funny Twitter feeds. Also this week, the origins of skosh and “can’t hold a candle,” why dragonflies are sometimes called snake...
A firefighter is annoyed by his boss’s use of the term pre-plan. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pre-Plan” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Dave. How are you? Hello, Dave. Hi, Dave. Doing well. Hi. Welcome to the...
OMG, text messaging! It’s destroying the English language, corrupting young minds, turning us into illiterates. It’s probably shrinking the ozone layer, too. Or is it? In his new book, Txting: The Gr8 Db8, David Crystal offers a different...
The French phrase au jus means with sauce, which is why it drives some diners to distraction when a menu lists beef with “au jus sauce.” A Wisconsin listener calls to say this phrase sets her teeth on edge. The hosts order up an answer fresh from...